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Today, I met my close friend and immediately noticed that she was pregnant. I was so surprised. She kept this fact from me until now. I’m happy for her. She’s moving forward with her boyfriend, while other friends of mine are separating or are trying to carry on with a life away from their former significant other as they try to deal with sharing time with their child or children. I’ve read many articles and studied the statistics on successful and unsuccessful relationships and also its impact on children. We make decisions because of the feelings we get and the pressures of time and expectation. Maybe I’m analyzing relationships and the family structure too much – Romanticized with a vision that only exists with about half of our nation’s families, as blended families, single parenthood, and a single life such as mine is a norm of our time period, in comparison to the days of our grandparents.

I know happiness is what we make of our lives, as we embrace gratitude for the good things we have. I understand this, and continue to move forward and evolve with time, but yet when I look within me, there is a dark corner where I am so still.

JON RIKI KARAMATSU · In my work as a lawyer, consultant, and entrepreneur, I enjoy building and expanding companies. In my past, I served eight years as a Hawaii State Representative; owned an Internet retail business for ten years; served four and a half years as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and Legislative Liaison for the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney, City and County of Honolulu; and produced campaign, cultural, and music events since 2002. As a lawyer, I advocate for entities that need new or amended rules, regulations, and/or statutes by drafting legislation, resolutions, and/or proposals, followed by written and oral testimonies before government bodies. I also assist companies with government incentives, special revenue bonds, government applications, government permits, public and private grants, proactive legal defense strategies, product and services development, marketing, public affairs, and media affairs. Further, I review, draft, and negotiate business agreements and documents. Every so often, I help clients in settling disputes through negotiation, mediation, and/or arbitration. Further, I'm a partner in a start-up aviation fixed-base operator company in Hawaii, which we plan to break ground in 2019. I enjoy creative writing as well, completing a paranormal, romance, historical, and suspense novel based in Hawaii during the 2000s that has been copyrighted and is being shopped around for representation. I'm currently writing my second novel, a historical, romance, and suspense story based in Iraq during the U.S. occupation and war.